Frankie Ford

New Orleans Rock n Roll Pioneer

Frankie Ford (born August 4, 1939; died September 28, 2015 in Gretna, Louisiana) was an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer. He is the adopted son of Vincent and Anna Guzzo, who named him Francis Guzzo. He was born in Gretna, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. Ford had a Top 20 hit in 1959 with "Sea Cruise" (b/w "Roberta"), sung to a previously recorded Huey "Piano" Smith backing track, released on Ace Records. The record sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc status. Frankie Ford was featured as a stellar singer from New Orleans, on the Southern Stars poster created by Dianna Chenevert to promote him and historically document his contribution to the music industry. On October 12, 1983 USA Today reporter Miles White highlighted Ford as one of the famous entertainers on the poster, which helped give him more nationwide attention. He was known as the "New Orleans Dynamo", and spent about 200 days a year on the road into his 70s. On May 16, 2010, at the Louisiana Music Homecoming in Erwinville, Ford was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.